How does a President move into the White House? The day ends with their favorite foods in the kitchen and their clothes in the closet

Yesterday, Donald Trump became the 47th President of the United States, and with the new job comes a new home. While the world focused on the ceremonies in the U.S. Capitol building, staff were 2 miles down the road, busy preparing 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for Trump and his family.

The clock starts ticking when the outgoing and incoming presidents leave the White House together for a shared limousine ride to the Capitol for the swearing-in. However, the moving process began, as it always does, upon the news of the election results in November.

According to the AP, the operation usually begins when the White House chief usher contacts the president-elect’s team to coordinate the move. It is then a tradition for the current first lady to show the incoming first lady around the living quarters while the President and President-elect meet in the Oval Office. Then, after weeks of planning the logistics, most of the moving is done on the inauguration day itself.

While Donald Trump's property portfolio is already impressive in its own right, the White House is its current crowning jewel – and the moving process behind it is as regimented as you might expect. 'Everything needs to be planned to the minute,' Melania Trump shared on Fox & Friends. The clock started ticking when Biden and Trump left the White House together for a shared limousine ride to the Capitol for the swearing-in. This is when the executive residence staff swings into action.

'Essentially, the staff is working nonstop to inventory, process and move all of the personal items of one first family out and a new first family in,' says Matthew Costello, chief education officer of the White House Historical Association, via a program about Inauguration Day history.

While the President takes part in the oath-taking, inaugural address, luncheon, and traditional parade, the staff arranges the family’s clothes, furniture, and other personal belongings. Meanwhile, the refrigerator is filled with their favorite foods and drinks.

To ensure the move is as seamless as possible, the residence staff reportedly work in groups. Typically, some are assigned to pack the outgoing family’s remaining items while another group loads the boxes onto the designated truck. At the same time, other staffers will bring the Trumps’ things inside while another group unpacks and places them where Melania Trump instructed. 'I know where I will be going. I know the rooms where we will be living. I know the process,' the First Lady had shared (via the AP).

The entire home also undergoes a deep cleaning (including carpets and windows) in between families while new mattresses are placed on the beds. The bedrooms and bathrooms are similarly restocked with new linens and towels. In total, the staff has around a total of only five hours on Inauguration Day to move out one first family and settle in the next one – regardless of who is President.

'The Residence,' by Kate Andersen Brower (available on Amazon), also offers a deeper look at the staff behind the White House. It combines first-person anecdotes from extensive interviews with scores of White House staff members –many speaking for the first time – with archival research.

Today, President Trump and Melania will enjoy the White House in a way that speaks exactly to their tastes. Meanwhile, the staff don't need to think about the moving process for another 4 years...